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Posted on: August 7, 2017

MMWD to Begin Winter Habitat Enhancement Project in Lagunitas Creek

Beginning early August 2017, the Marin Municipal Water District will install large log structures in Lagunitas Creek as part of the District’s Lagunitas Creek Coho Salmon and Steelhead Winter Habitat and Floodplain Enhancement Project. The project’s large log structures will provide fish with areas to ride out storms in floodplains and backwater habitat where the water flow is not as fast as in other parts of the stream. These habitats will give juvenile fish areas to feed and grow, as well as seek cover from predators.

The goal of these habitat enhancements is to help recover coho salmon and steelhead populations, two of California’s threatened and endangered fish species. Lagunitas Creek supports one of the largest and most stable populations of coho salmon in California but these fish still need help, such as this habitat enhancement work. This project will enable more juvenile fish to survive the winter before they migrate out to Tomales Bay, eventually reaching the ocean and their adult stage.

The Winter Habitat and Floodplain Enhancement Project is being implemented with funding and participation from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Fisheries Restoration Grant Program; California State Water Resources Control Board, 319(h) Grant Program; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastal Program; National Park Service; and California State Parks.

The project sites in Lagunitas Creek will be located in the area around the intersection of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Platform Bridge Road, and construction equipment will access project sites off of the Cross Marin Trail (the path that runs along the creek through Samuel P. Taylor State Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area lands). The Cross Marin Trail will remain open during the project, but may be periodically impacted by heavy equipment on the trail. Visitors on this segment of the Cross Marin Trail should be cautious and watch out for trucks and other heavy equipment.